Paris and Helen, with Hymen
1792
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1792
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This sketch shows three figures in a fancy room. On the left, a winged woman holds a seated woman’s hand. The standing man in the middle wears a crown of leaves and a draped cloth. Behind them, a bed with rumpled sheets and a small stool with a fan sit in the corner. The walls have columns and curtains, and the floor looks like marble. The artist left rough lines and shading to suggest light and fabric. It feels like a quick study, not a finished painting. The figures look like they’re in a story from long ago. Check out cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines.
